While this might be true for some of the industry’s biggest names, Hounsou has shared the challenges faced by a person of color working in Hollywood.
Having appeared in films such as Blood Diamond and Gladiator, one might assume that Hounsou would have amassed considerable wealth.
However, during a recent episode of CNN’s African Voices Changemakers, the 60-year-old actor revealed his struggles with being underpaid.
“I’m still struggling to make a living. I’ve been in the filmmaking business for over two decades with two Oscar nominations and many blockbuster films, and yet, I’m still struggling financially. I’m definitely underpaid,” he stated.
In addition to financial difficulties, Hounsou feels he has been overlooked for awards, especially by the Academy Awards for his performance in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 drama Amistad, where he played the role of Cinqué.
“I was nominated for the Golden Globe, but they ignored me for the Oscars because they thought that I had just come off the boat and the streets,” Hounsou said.
“Even though I successfully did that, they just didn’t feel like I was an actor to whom they should pay any respect,” he added.
Hounsou has not shied away from discussing the issue of pay in Hollywood. In a March 2023 interview with the Guardian, he mentioned he has “yet to meet the film that paid me fairly.”
“I still have to prove why I need to get paid. They always come at me with a complete low ball: ‘We only have this much for the role, but we love you so much and we really think you can bring so much,’” he said.
Echoing Viola Davis’s sentiments, he pointed out, “Viola Davis said it beautifully. She’s won an Oscar, she’s won an Emmy, she’s won a Tony and she still can’t get paid.”
Further elaborating on CNN’s African Voices Changemakers, Hounsou noted, “As I was doing research for the film, I became profoundly aware of the disconnect between Afro-descendants from their roots and culture.”
“Because when you don’t know where you came from, you don’t know who you are,” Hounsou concluded.